Music Managed

So yeah

2011-02-28T15:22:00.001-05:00

We need a new name for the blog.
If you have any suggestions please hit us up. :)

Also, Justin Bieber IS the most overrated, awful "singer" ever.
Sorry Caroline.

Best/Worst Discoveries of the Month

2011-02-28T14:36:00.010-05:00

Top 3 Best Discoveries:
1.Justin Bieber-
Okay, okay. So I know he’s the most overrated singer in the universe and his lyrics aren’t superb or different and he’s mainly just following the Hollywood hype, but I love Justin Bieber. And I honestly do think he’s talented. I mean, how many 16-17 year olds do you know that have two full length albums, an entire movie dedicated about them (in 3-D to add a spiffy touch), and could get any girl he wanted (all girls from the ages of about 8-grandma status)? You don’t know anyone like that. He’s so successful that even if you hate him, you know how at least one of his songs goes; most likely “Baby” because it’s applicable to so many situations. The point is, regardless of the severity of your “Bieber Fever,” you know who he is, and you know that if he came around, your girlfriend would drop you like a rotten tomato.

2.Emmure- Children of Cybertron
I may be a little late on listening to this album, but I finally did and well, Speaker of the Dead was not an exceptional album, but it was good. I do think that this song was a brilliant choice for the first track as it makes everyone want to mosh and fight or whatever.
\m/

3.Title Fight- 27
Title Fight is one of my all time favorite bands, so I may have been a little biased listening to this song, but this song only supported my opinion that TF is a top quality band. I’m extremely excited for their newest CD Shed, which releases on May 3, 2011.

Top 3 Worst Discoveries:

1.Lady Gaga-
For lack of better words, Lady Gaga sucks. Granted, her music IS catchy, but I literally hate my life when anything of hers is stuck in my head. Teenagers fantasize about being her and consider her their role model. But why? All she does is whine and sing her unoriginal lyrics while jumping around in ridiculous clothing which are only worn to try to be “different.” Either that or she’s 3/4s of the way naked. Now she’s on the tabloids for her remarkable talent of being on heavy drugs and boozed out of her mind 24/7. Super awesome role models, guys.

2.Glee-
I wish I could find words to explain my hatred for Glee. Everyone on that show is annoying and in my honest opinion, untalented. I find every single person extremely unbearable and each time my mother turns on the TV to watch the show, I feel my muscles tense as I imagine myself reaching through the screen to beat each and every character up.

3. Kesha-
As my dear friend Brennan pointed out to me, "$" is not a letter, so we will not be referring to Kesha, as "Ke$ha." Her music is unnecessarily raunchy, monotonous, and her voice sounds like a cheerleader on drugs. Her lyrics disgust me, as she refers to her genitals as "butterscotch" and only talks about things with little to no meaning.

Discoveries Of The Month

2011-02-26T12:26:00.003-05:00

Top 3 Best Discoveries Of The Month:
1. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
-An extremely well-done music video (made by Spike Jonze) about disillusioned teens. The video also has an important message too. The story follows kids in a town controlled by a military force that takes young boys to be soldiers in the middle of the night. It puts the theme of child soldiers to a place any American can relate to.
2. Kanye West - Runaway
-I have to take this one in two parts: the “film” and the song.
-Song: While I’m admittedly not a fan of rap, this song definitely makes my list. Kanye definitely stepped it up with this song. The piano chords in the begin are haunting, yet beautiful. Lyrical it has its ups and downs; some still blow: “I sent this bitch a picture of my dick”, but some are actually good: “Never was much of a romantic/I could never take the intimacy/and I know it did damage/plus the look in your eyes is killing me”.
-Film: I don’t think it quite deserves the title “film”, but since that’s what it’s labeled as I’ll go with it. Kanye should know though, just because it’s Selita Ebanks doesn’t mean it’s not bestiality. I must admit though, if I were an alien come to Earth, I would definitely want Kanye West to show me around. I was also actually pretty impressed with Ebanks’ acting.
3. The Strokes - Angles
-Not as much to say on this one since it’s just an announcement. But, I cannot wait to hear the new album, especially after hearing "Under Cover Of Darkness". I have to say that the song has become one of my favorites and a most played. It's extremely catchy and the lyrics are great. "So long, my friend and adversary." You can get a free download of it on The Strokes' website.

Other Things That Should Be Mentioned:
1. The Black Keys - Tighten Up
-While the song is super good, I still haven’t decided exactly how I feel about this video. Definitely an amusing video, but with the number of child actors out there, they should have gotten some who could actually lip sync. Almost a Cute Is What We Aim For level of bad. My other complaint is the kid who looks disturbingly like Macaulay Culkin. Highlights? Lots and lots of Ray Bans and watching some guys get beaten up by kids.
2. Our Lives In Motion
-I found out about this band through good ol’ Twitter. The lead singer has a good voice and their sound reminds me of Anberlin (think Feel Good Drag). Its clear they’re new though; the songs all sound fairly similar. Branching out will do them good. You may have heard of them because they were also named one of Purevolume Top Unsigned Artists of 2010.
3. Count Me In
-Another band I found out about via Twitter (I’m just gonna give ‘em all a little mention). They’re very pop, but not in a bad way. The lyrics to “She’s Got It Goin’ On” are pretty good for a new band. One of the main things they have going for them is that, unlike most beginning bands, their songs don’t all sound identical.
4. Dangerfield
-When I first went to Dangerfield’s page and heard the opening to “Fighting”, I expected something a little more hardcore. But, the singer’s voice is synthesized. I almost thought it was a joke until I listened to the others. The music and the singing don’t really match up. I think they could be good if they just chose a direction and stuck with it. An example is “Tonight”, which is a decent start for a synth-heavy band.
5. This Love
-They toured with NeverShoutNever! and are, therefore, not my taste. They’re definitely better than NeverShoutNever! though because while the songs are kinda cheesy, they are nowhere near as bad. My main complaint is that the lead singer’s voice is scratchy. While this can work really well sometimes, with This Love it just seems like they shouldn’t be singing their own songs. My verdict? Not awful, but not great.

Top 5 Worst Discoveries Of The Month:
1. Cloud Nothings - Should Have
-If I hadn’t seen the video, the song might have ended up on my “Other Things That Should Be Mentioned” list. But, the video is a whole new level of disturbing. I have no desire to watch people deep-throat each other’s hair. My desire decreases even less when they barf. And when the hair is repulsive looking.
2. Lady Gaga - Telephone
-Okay, so granted I’ve known about this video for awhile, but I thought I’d give it a shout-out; especially on the horrifying discovery it made Pitchfork Media’s Top Music Videos Of 2010 list. I think I can pretty much sum up why I chose to put it on this list with this: Get some originality. You can only kill cheating boyfriends so many times and ripping off Chicago is lame. Also, your product placement is fucking ridiculous.
3. Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
-No. Just no. Possibly a new all time low lyrically. Why do you want to be the awful boyfriend stealer? Its only redeeming quality is that you can play it at a techno club. Oh wait, that kind of play time is not a redeeming quality.
4. Nicki Minaj - Right Through Me
-This is another one I’ve known about for a bit, but it’s also so bad it deserved to make it. The lyrics are inane and the video makes her the least-likable human being imaginable. Don’t throw things if you want to keep your boyfriend.
5. The Fight Between Kings Of Leon and Glee’s Creator
-Glee’s creator, Ryan Murphy, apparently thinks that putting your song on Glee isn’t selling out. And that he’s educating kids. How is not putting your song on Glee hating on arts education? Glee is not the least bit educational or realistic. It also ruins good music and shouldn’t be watched by the 7 year-olds Murphy thinks it applies to. As much as Kings Of Leon is hit-or-miss for me, I think it’s good that they actually have some standards.

Defeater- Empty Days and Sleepless Nights

2011-02-25T14:36:00.008-05:00

The Massachusetts based band is known not only for their exquisite musical talent, but for their activism and awareness in social as well as environmental issues, and incorporating them into their music. In fact, the band wanted to form in order to raise conscious awareness in as many areas as possible .
Empty Days and Sleepless Nights will be released on March 8, 2011 and includes the following tracks:
1) Warm Blood Rush
2) Dear Father
3) Waves Crash, Clouds Roll
4) Empty Glass
5) No Kind Of Home
6) White Knuckles
7) Cemetery Walls
8) Quiet the Longing
9) At Peace
10) White Oak Doors
11) But Breathing
12) Brothers
13) I Don't Mind
14) Headstone

In my opinion, Defeater never disappoints. My personal favorites include, Dear Father, No Kind Of Home, Quiet The Longing, however it's hard to place favoritism on any certain song.

Man Overboard- Absolute Worst

2011-02-25T14:05:00.004-05:00

Man Overboard released their new single, The Absolute Worst on 2.22.11.
The track listing includes:
1. The Absolute Worst
2. I Saw Behemoth And It Ruled (Electric Ver.)

Man Overboard has been receiving multitudes of attention and creating a new fan base, making them a more recognizable band throughout the world, as they are now touring across Europe.
2010 proved to be an exciting and eventful year as they signed a contract with Rise Records, which at first, was not well received with fans, as they sport bands such as "Attack Attack!" But as fans warmed up to the idea, they found that having Man Overboard on the label would bring about a breath of fresh air. Guitarist Wayne Wildrick left the band, and as a result, drummer Justin Collier moved to guitar while Mike Hrycenko(of Front Page)joined the band on drums.

The boys have proven themselves as not another "sell out," by keeping their pop punk sound and writing lyrics that all listeners can relate to and that have heart.
Here's an insert from the main chorus:
"Because girls like you are the absolute worst,
I really tried to like you but you messed it up first,
Because girls like you are as bad as they come,
Go crawl back to wherever you came from"

As a huge fan of Real Talk,I am extremely satisfied with this new EP and am excited for any full lengths expected to be released in the near future.

On Your Side - A Rocket to the Moon

2009-11-27T18:26:00.001-05:00

On Your Side is the debut album from A Rocket to the Moon. They had previously released several demos and EPs, with popular songs such as “Dakota”, “If Only They Knew”, and “Baby, We’re Invincible”.

When I listened to the album, one of my first thoughts was that it was more of a summer album and should have been released in June rather than October; it has the “cute” lyrics and light music. Unfortunately, that is not my heaviest criticism of the CD.

The CD starts off with “Annabelle” which has okay, but uninspired lyrics. Some of the notes sound harsh and the song is definitely lacking something. It then moves on to “Mr. Right” which I had similar opinions of. Next, is “She’s Killing Me”. By this point, I was starting to think the album was going to kill me. Then comes “On A Lonely Night”. Was this deja vu, or had I already listened to this song?

A Rocket to the Moon also includes their “new” version of “Dakota”. Something has definitely been changed, but not for the better. Next, “Life of the Party” began to play. I was relieved. Maybe, this would be the first decent song, despite the intro’s possible similarities to “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry. Then, the lyric “I thought I would drink you forever” pops out. Ummm.... bad metaphor. Especially when the line about the straw is included. So much for decent.

As On Your Side progressed, I wanted to listen to it less and less. It switches between country and not quite techno like schizophrenia. A Rocket to the Moon is clearly trying to sound like other popular bands of a similar genre. There are many similarities in lyrics to “Give a Damn” and the Maine’s “Everything I Ask For”. For example, both songs tell of a girl who seems to be perfect for the singer.

My advice? Save your money, or buy one of A Rocket to the Moon’s EPs.

-Brennan

Nothing Personal - All Time Low

2009-11-14T13:33:00.002-05:00

Nothing Personal is probably All Time Low’s catchiest album. The songs are singable, get stuck in your head easily, and are great for concerts. But, like most albums, it has its ups and downs.

The majority of the songs have good beats and interesting lyrics. The album starts off strong with “Weightless”. Anyone can relate to the lyrics (“maybe its not my weekend, but it’s gonna be my year”) and the tempo is good. It then moves into “Break Your Little Heart” which keeps the upbeat tempo and it’s also the song from which the title of the CD comes. The next song is “Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)” which is probably one of the best songs on the CD; it’s catchy and the beat is perfect for dancing. Another strong song is “Stella”, a song about being drunk on Stella Artois. “Stella” (perhaps unintentionally) is full of brilliant double meanings. The song “Walls” is perfect for concerts because its lyrics could work for a slow song, but its tempo is upbeat.

However, other songs are repetitive and over-edited. In “Lost In Stereo”, lead singer Alex Gaskarth repeats the title phrase too often. This wouldn’t even be so bad if the song were short; it is not, it is one of the longest songs on the CD. One over-edited song is “Too Much”, which is, in my opinion, the worst song on the CD. It is weak in comparison to the other songs. It sounds nothing like All Time Low or like the rest of the CD.

The rest of Nothing Personal is neither weak, nor exceptionally strong. “Keep The Change, You Filthy Animal” and “A Party Song (The Walk of Shame)” sound more like older All Time Low and are singable, but lack the catchiness to make them very memorable. “Sick Little Games” is good, but maybe slightly monotone, whereas “Hello, Brooklyn” is fun but gets a little strange when Alex Gaskarth begins to shout out random cities. The CD is finished up with “Therapy”. Similarly to “Too Much”, it sounds little like anything else on the CD. It’s an okay song, with the chorus being the best part.

-Brennan

Hello Fascination- Breathe Carolina

2009-11-11T19:03:00.011-05:00

I've never been a fan of Breathe Carolina as I've always thought their music was musically challenged and over-rated. Hello Fascination changed that opinion. Titled after one of the songs, Hello Fascination shows people that Breathe Carolina can change their style and have a positive outcome.

Kyle Even and David Schmitt, the masterminds behind the album create lyrics that have hidden meanings. In "Dressed Up To Undress", you may be thinking the artists are creating a cute song to a girl about how she doesn't need to dress up for a date, or you could be thinking "This is just a nice way of saying "Let's fuck."
"I Have To Go Return Some Video Tapes" is extremely violent and angry. "[...]I want you to know I've been in your apartment. This is the instrument I split your head apart with. It's not the first time I've had the impulse. Unwrap your skin and axe off your limbs [...]"
Creepy, no?

I enjoyed this album and the catchy tunes Breathe Carolina concocted.

No Time To Bleed- Suicide Silence

2009-11-08T11:25:00.006-05:00

No Time To Bleed was highly anticipated by Suicide Silence fans.
Following up The Cleansing would be tough, and I think Suicide Silence didn't disappoint, however No Time To Bleed does have its flaws.

In my opinion, No Time To Bleed really shows off the talent Suicide Silence has to offer. Mitch Lucker is an extremely talented vocalist, but shows his variety of screams in the very first song, which meant the rest of the songs had nothing new. All the songs start to sound redundant after only a few tracks. However, when listening to No Time To Bleed in moderation, it can be enjoyable.

Brand New Eyes- Paramore

2009-11-08T11:07:00.005-05:00

"I was like, 'This isn't a feel-good song, because I'm writing about something I'm going through right now, and it's still painful, and I confused that with actually not liking the songs, when actually I was prouder of them than I've ever been before. They're heavier emotions for me... I'm still going through some of this stuff, and these songs are really healing to me." (Quote from Singer Hayley Willians)

Brand New Eyes shows fans the heartfelt side of Paramore, the side we saw some of in their past album All We Know Is Falling. Not only are there angry and passionate lyrics such as “The angles were wrong, now she’s ripping wings off of butterflies”, but vocalist Hayley Willams has exposed a whole new range of her voice. “All I Wanted Was You” and “Turn It Off’ show just how high Hayley’s voice can go. Paramore decided to name the record Brand New Eyes because of the decision to sees things from a whole new perspective. "Just trying to let go of whatever we might have struggled with the past and just see each other in a new way," explained Williams. In the first week, Brand New Eyes sold 175,000 copies and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2.

It's All Happening- Iwrestledabearonce

2009-11-08T10:57:00.005-05:00

Being an influential band in the metal world and already having a four and a half star rating on their EP, Iwrestledabearonce had to step up to the challenge of making an even better sound when making their first full length album. Released on June 2, 2009, It’s All Happening combines the hardcore growls and screams we’re used to as well as technical riffs and guitar solos. Vocalist Krysta Cameron combines off pitch eerie singing sections in almost each song.

The first few times I listened to this CD, I thought that the off pitch singing added a really nice touch. Especially since Krysta decided to hit the right notes in th "Alaskan Flounder Baske"t. However, after listening to It’s All Happening many times, the continuous notes never matching the tone of the music made the songs annoying. “I'm Cold and There Are Wolves After Me” starts off with a beautiful, ominous singing part, but later in the song, she started wavering from the right notes. "The Cats Pajamas" contains a more melodic tune and sounds much better than the rest of her singing. It’s All Happening sold 4,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. It’s debut position was No. 121 on The Billboard 200 chart and landed No. 1 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heartseekers) chart.

A Little Faster- There For Tomorrow

2009-09-28T17:08:00.004-04:00

With A Little Faster, There For Tomorrow tries to show you everything that they have. "The Remedy" and "A Little Faster" are similar to their older music, while "Just In Time" shows the softer side that their self-titled EP lacked. This full length CD brings new levels to the band. A Little Faster has the power to give There For Tomorrow more popularity and a bigger fan following.

Like any album though, A Little Faster has its share of downsides. "I Can’t Decide" is meant to be slow and heartfelt, but comes off a little repetitive. Another problem is "Deathbed’s" lyrics. The whole concept is a little strange and leaves the listener wondering what Maika Maile was thinking.

A Little Faster also has its upsides. Songs like "Just In Time" and "Burn the Night Away" give the CD slower songs which allow There For Tomorrow to show their ability to change the tempo. "Backbone’s" lyrics are relatable to anyone who has ever wished someone would come into their own. "Stories" has a good build and the lyrics are a nice compliment to it.

In conclusion, A Little Faster is a good first album from a band who I hope to hear much more from.

-Brennan